〈 Chapter 242 〉 Epilogue – Crow Association (1)

*

“President! Vice President!”

Those were the words calling out to Sara and me.

The President and Vice President of the Crow Association. That was our current titles.

“It’s been a while, everyone!”

Sara answered brightly, full of energy.

Unlike me, still not used to the title of Vice President, she had completely adapted to it.

Moreover, it was quite nice to see her smiling brightly, unlike her usual slumped posture at the inn.

‘Well, this has been her wish for a long time…’

She always dreamed of restoring the Crow Association.

After all, immediately following the prevention of destruction, she dove straight into the association’s activities as soon as the world calmed down.

She gathered the merchants who used to belong to the Crow Association.

And traveled around to enthusiastically recruit various other merchants as well.

While I also tagged along to help her show face, it was undeniable that she was the main force behind creating the current Crow Association.

“Allen! What are you up to? Get on quickly.”

“Yeah, um…”

I got on the wagon, almost being dragged by her.

Then, all eyes were on us.

“So, everyone, is everyone ready?”

With that attention, she skillfully commanded the association.

This was a regular event that happened about once a quarter.

The President and Vice President would boost the association’s morale by showing their faces and directly embarking on expeditions.

This was stipulated as one of the membership conditions and was essential for maintaining the association’s standing.

‘I don’t really mind it either.’

Now that the chaos had disappeared from the world.

While the uncharted territories where that chaos once reigned were still dangerous, the natural scenery was incredibly beautiful.

The unique terrains, eroded over a long time, and the greenery that was starting to grow back around us were soothing to the heart as we rode in the wagon.

‘Of course, this is part of the job too.’

It was different from the trip I took with the Luel and Lucy sisters.

Now, because it was work, I had to focus on our original duties as well.

Surrounding surveillance.

In truth, given that we had risen again as the Crow Association, it was part of my main responsibility.

Even if I had lost my abilities, my swordsmanship was still intact.

“Everyone, stop for a second!”

Three hours into the expedition, a suspicious group appeared ahead.

They looked like they were armed and riding horses.

‘Definitely bandits.’

I placed my hand on my sword, ready for a potential battle.

However, there weren’t many of them.

Furthermore, upon confirming the Crow flag our association bore, they hurriedly turned their horses away and fled.

After confirming this, Sara gave another order.

“Let’s set off again!”

We continued on our way when suddenly something caught my eye.

‘Aren’t those the guys from earlier?’

The bandits who had fled upon seeing us were suddenly in view again, much farther ahead on a mountain ridge.

‘What’s going on?’

It seemed quite far from the place where we last encountered them.

It was hard to believe that a bandit group typically operated this far from their hideout, crossing paths with us like this.

‘Then…’

There was only one thing I could deduce.

“Sara.”

“Yeah?”

“I think we should be careful.”

Right now, we were entering a canyon surrounded by mountains.

But in this kind of terrain, it wouldn’t be good for us.

Did Sara notice it too? She nodded.

“Got it.”

From this point on, with our visibility diminished, we had to be even more vigilant than before.

Clop, clop.

The wagon bounced along the mountain road.

In that moment… we finally noticed something unusual.

A rather large anomaly.

‘What is that?’

A giant boulder was blocking the way, and it seemed like it had been rolled in from somewhere.

For sure, it hadn’t been there during the last expedition.

Finding a boulder like this suddenly here seemed unnatural.

‘They must have struggled to move it.’

That aside…

“Everyone, stop!”

Sara, upon discovering the boulder, halted the association.

It looked like passing through here would be difficult.

We would need to turn the wagon around and find another way, even if it took more time.

‘The issue is, it would take considerable time to turn the wagon around.’

And those who placed the boulder here would probably take advantage of that time.

So I jumped off the wagon and shouted,

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Following my command, soldiers drew their swords.

They were elite troops I had trained at least for a short time.

As I had said when persuading Sara, strong people gather under strong leaders.

I had become known as one of the strongest figures in this continent.

So the people who gathered under me couldn’t have been weak either.

‘If that were the case, they wouldn’t trust me to lead the association.’

Except for cases like today, most expeditions didn’t involve Sara and me.

Yet, to challenge our association, they must have either been quite brave or very certain of their skills.

In hindsight, the two weren’t very different.

Just as I thought that, the bandit group finally appeared.

‘There seems to be quite a lot of them.’

Their numbers appeared to be two or three times that of our troops.

‘Where did they gather so many?’

Perhaps it wasn’t just one bandit group, but several bands that had formed an alliance.

Well, to raid the Crow Association, you’d need at least that many.

… This complicates things a bit.

While I could probably win if we fought, with that many, it would be impossible to defend effectively.

‘In the end, numbers remain a challenge to handle.’

In the era of chaos, such a thing might have been different.

In the days of relics and stigmas, a single human could confront hundreds at a time.

But right now, such feats were unrealistic.

No matter how strong I was said to be…

In the end, I was only the strongest in one-on-one swordsmanship.

I didn’t have the strength to sweep away a mindless swarm all at once.

‘It’s unfortunate, but that’s reality.’

I drew my sword as I watched the approaching bandits.

Since I was now the Vice President of the Crow Association, I felt responsible to fend off the attacks.

But at that moment…

‘Sara?’

I suddenly spotted Sara moving out of the corner of my eye.

She jumped off the wagon and headed toward the boulder ahead.

‘What is she trying to do now…’

The boulder was dozens of times bigger than her body.

After a momentary gaze at it, she placed her hand on her sword.

And then…

“Sky Cleaving.”

In that instant, a clear sound rang out.

At the same time…

Craaack!

The massive boulder split in half.

“What in the world…?”

She split the boulder and smiled as if nothing had happened.

The atmosphere, which seemed ready for battle, froze in an instant.

And the bandits… ultimately chose to flee.

That seemed only natural.

If you witness a human cleave a massive boulder in two with a single sword, anyone would come to the same conclusion.

To be honest, I was a bit frightened too.

“Well then, let’s get going again!”

She cheerfully climbed back onto the wagon.

As I sat back down beside her, I asked, “What did you just do?”

“Huh?”

“The thing about splitting the boulder.”

“The boulder? Oh, you mean Sky Cleaving?”

Indeed, what she just did was too unreal to comprehend.

It made me wonder if Albert hadn’t taken her abilities after all.

Yet she spoke about it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“That was Sky Cleaving.”

Then she stretched out her hand and pointed to the sky.

In that moment, an unbelievable sight entered my vision.

The blue sky, with a massive sword mark slicing through the clouds in a straight line beneath it.

‘What is happening…’

She wasn’t just splitting the boulder.

From the beginning, she had split the sky, and the boulder lay in between.

How could such a thing be possible?

Well, do I really need to explain this?

She simply swung her sword with the conviction that she could cleave the heavens.

And in reality, it was possible.

Her swordsmanship was that far beyond understanding.

‘How’ is not what mattered.

In the end, the only thing that mattered was the fact that she had cleaved the sky.

‘Perhaps…’

I might not be the strongest after all.

Maybe it’s this girl, smiling next to me, who is the true strongest?

What the heck have I been cultivating?

I began to feel a bit frightened.

*

“Phew…”

After a successful expedition, Sara collapsed onto the bed.

I praised her as she lay there.

“You did well today.”

“Really? Did I properly act like a leader?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

That made Sara start to giggle.

She looked a little foolish, but since I knew she could get serious when it mattered, I didn’t admonish her.

“Well then, Allen…”

Suddenly, Sara began to twist her body around.

To be honest, it was a given that this was a cliché development.

“I understand.”

Now, what I had to give her was a reward.

This was a prize for her hard work during this expedition.

But there was a problem…

This girl surprisingly had quite the peculiar taste.

At the inn, I could barely satisfy her desires.

So this was the only opportunity where I could fully cater to her whims during a business trip.

“The only chance to unleash her desires as she wishes.”

“First, lie down.”

At this moment, the President and Vice President of the Crow Association were nowhere to be found.

What lay here was just a single panting dog lying on a bed and her owner.

I placed a collar around her neck.

“Wait, what’s this…”

Sara’s face turned bright red.

But I scolded her.

“A beast must not speak like a human.”

“Woof… bark, grrr…”

I hope you don’t misunderstand.

This is all because she enjoys it.

It’s not really my preference. Probably.

*